


the night that started it all

by amazonalexa



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Maxneil, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28025355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazonalexa/pseuds/amazonalexa
Summary: neil, anxious as ever, can't sleep due to an important presentation that he was responsible for the next morning. going against his better judgment, he gets into bed with max and ends up thinking about much more than his presentation...
Relationships: Max & Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp), Max/Science Camp Neil (Camp Camp)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	the night that started it all

**Author's Note:**

> guess who just got done watching all of camp camp again? i'm not going to let this fandom die
> 
> and yes, i'm aware that they're ten in the show, but they're in middle school in this story. they're still the same characters with the same personalities but just aged up a couple of years because i feel extremely uncomfortable writing romantic scenes between literal elementary schoolers. they're 12/13 ish. 
> 
> also, this is my first story on ao3! i'm used to writing on wattpad, so forgive me if screw anything up.
> 
> lowercase intended

the second that neil took on the responsibility of presenting the camp's appeal for financing he regretted it. gwen had manipulated him into doing all the work by telling him that he was the smartest camper there, and of course, he fell for it. the night before the big presentation, all the calculations were done and correct (he was certain) but he still couldn't get the thought out of his head that everything was going to go wrong. as much as he tried to sleep, every time his eyes closed he would imagine all the ways he could embarrass himself in front of everyone. he felt as if he might work himself into a panic attack if he continued to lay there and imagine the worst possibilities, so he sat up on his cot in the tent that he shared with max. he sat there, listening to the other boy breathe in the dark.

"hey, max?" he whispered, "are you still awake?"

"mm huh, what do you want?" max said in a groggy voice which made neil assume that he was dangerously close to falling asleep.  
what the hell? neil thought, he probably won't remember this in the morning. he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "i can't sleep and I'm really nervous about tomorrow. could i come lay with you for a little bit?"

he wasn't expecting to get an answer from max, and it took him by surprise when he heard his blankets rustle.

"sure, whatever," was the half-asleep response that came from the other side of the room.

neil's heart started pounding as he quietly stepped out of his cot and crossed the room to get into max's. he felt his way in the dark to slide underneath the blanket and lie down next to his friend.

he could hear max's soft snores already, which allowed him to relax. he tried to stay as far away from the sleeping boy as possible, but the warmth of his body made him shift closer until their sides touched.

he laid like this for a while, appreciating his situation, but the nervous thoughts about tomorrow reemerged to take over his mind. desperately, he reached out for max but stopped himself. that would only make things worse, he thought. but he needed comfort right now. he flipped onto his side to face the other boy, and stuck his arm up to be next to his hair. max is a pretty heavy sleeper... this probably won't wake him up and even if it does, i can play it off.

he started to play with max's hair, his fingers intertwining with his soft curls. this was something that awake-max claimed he hated, but neil had never believed him. while doing this, neil was finally able to close his eyes peacefully, concentrating on the other boy's thick raven hair twisting between his fingers and breathing in the smell of black coffee and pine needles that lingered around him.

he was almost able to drift off to sleep when he felt max shift beneath him. shit, he thought, and immediately recoiled his hand.

he lied there, holding his breath, hoping to god that max didn't realize what he was doing.

he heard max let out a soft groan.

"you didn't have to stop," a sleepy voice said from under a blanket.

neil exhaled in relief. thank god he's not mad... wait. what the fuck did he just say? he felt his face get hot as he wished he could see max's expression.  
neil tentatively reached his hand back into max's hair and messed with it for another minute, noticing that max's snoring did not resume. he was still awake.

neil and max lied there for what felt like an eternity, both now wide awake and staring into the darkness of the tent. max had fully snapped out of his dazed state and was now able to fully appreciate the feeling of his friend playing with his hair. he had always thought that he hated his hair being touched- like when david insisted on rustling it- but this was different. no one had ever touched him this gently before. as max laid there, he noticed that he was extremely comfortable. he also noticed that something inside of him that he couldn't identify had begun to tie knots within his stomach.

shit... max thought and darted upright in the cot. 

"neil, i, uh. i just realized something and i'm not gonna have it be awkward or whatever between us so i'm just gonna tell you, okay? don't make it weird." he said while nervously wringing his hands.

"uhh..." neil fully expected to be chewed out and kicked out of the bed by the other boy for touching him. he would have not been surprised if max was angry that he tried to come on to him. neil was a little bit angry at himself.

"promise you won't make it weird?" max insisted.

"i promise?" neil responded, bracing himself for what was to come.

max was silent for a second but forced himself to come out and say it.

"i think i like you. in like, a more than friends way?"

neil was stunned at his friend's confession. he tried to think of something to say in response but no words came to mind. he sat up to turn on the lantern that illuminated the tent.

for the first time that night, the two boys were able to fully see each other. max shot a sheepish look at neil as neil stared, completely confused, back. max began to worry about what he might have just done.

"and- and you obviously don't have to feel the same, but you did come into my bed and start cuddling me so i don't know what you fucking expected to happen-" he rambled before being abruptly cut off.

"max. i've had a crush on you since the day we met." neil sat down on the cot and looked max in the eyes, finally finding the words that he had been wanting to say since the day he arrived at camp campbell.

a sneer developed on max's face.

"i know you're lying. it's fine if you don't like me back but you don't have to fucking pity me."

"and why the hell would i lie about that?" neil shot back defensively.

"to make me feel better about saying something dumb. or to make fun of me when i fall for your lie." max insisted, trying not to let the memories of past crushes that ended up breaking his heart come to his mind.

"that would be so fucked. i swear i'm not joking, max." neil said. his face was twisted into a confused and forceful expression, but he had a sincere look in his eye.

"...oh my god," max breathed, covering his mouth with his hand. "you're not"

"i just wasn't going to tell you. you see how nervous i get about literally everything. and you can sometimes be a little... intimidating," neil continued.

max stifled a laugh and smirked at the boy in front of him. "that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

they sat there for a while, neither of them willing to meet the other's eyes.

neil was the first to break the silence with a breathy laugh.

"heh... so, um, what-"

"if you ask 'what are we' so help me god..." max snapped.

"but max! it's a valid question!"

"i don't want to be one of those sappy ass couples around camp, okay? do you know how much david would patronize us if he found out? and gwen would probably write us into one of her fucking fanfictions. and oh god- preston."

neil took a second to think.

"but you're saying that you do want to be a couple?" neil looked into max's eyes.

"yeah... but i dont want anything to change with us, though. maybe we could act normal around the others but at night be like... this?" he took neil's hands in his.

neil tore his hands away from max's grasp, a look of disgust on his face.

"i'm not going to be your dirty little secret, max."

"no, it's not like that!" max said, shocked by neil's stark disapproval of what he had suggested.

"are you sure that you actually want to be with me or-" neil asked, hesitantly.

"yes!" max cried a little louder than he meant to. he looked at the shock on neil's face and lowered his voice. "it's just- i just- i want to be with you but i dont know if i want to tell everyone that i'm gay. and this would also be my first relationship so im kinda scared, okay? this is all new to me but i really like you and i don't want to mess this, or our friendship, up..." he trailed off softly, receding his hands and neck into the warmth of his sweatshirt. he could not meet neil's eyes.

"max, we're in middle school. its both of our first relationships. it'll be okay." neil said softly, trying to make max look at him.

he wouldn't, and they sat there in silence for a moment while max thought things through.

max used his sleeve to rub his face before taking a deep breath and looking at the boy in front of him.

"...okay," he said, then chuckled. "look how much I've rubbed off on you, being the sensible one and shit," max teased.

neil laughed under his breath and felt his cheeks get hot. "i guess you have," he smiled, "and we don't have to tell everyone at first, okay? maybe we can just tell nikki to start."

"yeah, that sounds good... so uh, heh, what are we then? max said with a smirk.

"i dont know," neil said, "and maybe we don't have to figure it out right now."

max breathed a sigh of relief. "oh god, i'm so happy you didn't say some stupid shit like partners in crime."

there we go, neil thought, the normal max is back. neil closed his eyes to laugh underneath his breath.

max looked at the goofy smile on neil's face and thought that now was a good a time as any. he grabbed the collar of neil's pajama shirt and pulled his face down to his.

neil was stunned silent as his face was pulled towards the other boy's. he waited with his face not even an inch apart, not knowing what to do next.

max was the one that finally closed the gap between their lips. It was an awkward kiss, with neither of the boys really knowing what to do with their lips pressed together. eventually, neil opened his mouth, allowing max to sink into a deeper kiss with the taller boy. after a few moments they parted, both blushing and grinning like crazy.

it was not a perfect kiss, it was messy and awkward, but it was perfect for them. just two boys, at a summer camp, in love.

"i liked that," neil said, grinning in the dim lantern light, his curly brown hair a mess across his face.

"you're cute," max teased and lied back into bed, pulling the covers over his body.

neil followed suit, first switching off the light then getting under the same blanket. max, being almost a foot shorter than him, was at the perfect height to rest his head on his chest. neil resumed to playing with max's hair.

"hey, max?" neil asked softly. "you'll always be my best friend, so don't worry about that."

max buried his face into neil's side, trying to hide his blushing even though there was no way neil could see it in the dark.

"thanks... you'll always be mine, too," he muttered, getting over his touchy-feely mood of the night and returning to his grouchy self.

neil heard him, though, and they fell asleep together. neil's presentation was the last thing on his mind, and he was instead concentrating on listening to the soft breathing of the boy on top of him.

david's camp-wide alarm woke them up the next morning, but neither of them wanted to separate.

"max, i have to get up," neil said.

max groaned and flung his arms around the other boy, wrapping him in a hug that pinned him to the bed.

"seriously! i have to go set up my presentation," he pleaded.

max shook his head into neil's chest.

"ill bring you coffee..?" he asked, knowing exactly how to reach the semi-conscious boy.

max grinned and rolled back onto his side of the bed to let neil get up. neil returned ten minutes later with two cups of coffee, and max sat up in his bed.

"so, you ready for today?" he asked the boy that was pacing around nervously.

"not really," neil said, "what if everything goes wrong? there's a lot riding on this."

Max stood up to meet the taller boy and stopped him mid-pace to look into his eyes.

"hey, everything is going to be fine," he said while grabbing neil's hands. "you are going to do great, know why?"

"why?"

"because i'll dump you if you screw it up," max said with a smirk.

"MAX! what the hell?" neil yelled.

"i'm kidding!... it's because you're the smartest person i know..." he looked up at neil, smiling softly.

"aww. you're sweet, max," neil cooed.

"i am not! you take that back!" max yelled, trying to rip his hands away from the grasp of the other boy's.

"never," neil said, grabbing max and pulling him into a hug.

max couldn't stay mad as he melted into the warmth of the embrace.

"alright, i gotta go."

"okay," max muttered into neil's chest and reluctantly released him.

"don't fuck this up!" max called as neil walked out of their tent. neil gave max the finger as he left.

of course, neil's presentation went perfectly. whenever neil got nervous, he would simply look at max in the audience and max would grin back at him.

it felt like nothing could ever go wrong if he had max.


End file.
